OCEANSIDE: 14 train for marathon with help from Tri-City

Contest winners overcome variety of health problems

Owen Cobb hasn't really run more than a couple of feet since
junior high school, mostly because a bone infection he had when he
was 2 years old left him without any cartilage in his hip
joints.

Now, the 35-year-old Cardiff resident is up to 11 miles as part
of his preparation for the 13-mile Tri-City Medical Center Carlsbad
Half Marathon next month.

"It has been an amazing transformation," he said. "I'm stronger
than I've ever been."

Cobb is one of 14 residents picked by the Oceanside hospital as
part of an essay-writing contest to receive free training and gym
membership for the annual long-distance competition.

After hip replacement surgery in February, Cobb said he thought
the training would make him stronger and allow him to run without
pain. When he started meeting with the group five months ago, he
couldn't run or even jog. He could only walk. Next week, the group
is expected to run 12 miles, the longest the runners will go before
the race.

The group has met at least once a week to train since July,
starting with just one mile.

"We've all kind of bonded," Cobb said. "We all lean on each
other and everyone kind of pushes each other."

The half-marathon and a full marathon are scheduled for Jan. 23
through downtown Carlsbad. Both events are already full. Ten
thouand people have registered for the two events ---- 8,500 for
the half marathon and 1,500 for the full 26-mile run.

The contest winners range in age from 20 to 70 and come from all
kinds of backgrounds, said Lynda Luce, a spokeswoman for the
medical center, which is sponsoring the contest and marathon for
the second year.

Applicants were asked to write a 500-word essay about what
challenges they're trying to overcome and why they want to live a
healthier life. The winners received free entrance in the half
marathon, a six-month membership to the Tri-City Wellness Center,
group training and enrollment in a race-training program.

Leesa Lamb, a 46-year-old Vista Resident, decided to enter the
contest as part of her new focus on healthy living after overcoming
breast cancer. She said she hopes her story will inspire others
with the disease to remain optimistic.

"I want to show people with cancer that there's life after
treatment," she said.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2007
and went through seven months of treatment. She said she hadn't
done any long-distance running before winning the contest.

"I don't have the oomph to go out there and just run alone," she
said. "The long runs are only good if you have somebody next to you
running."

Both Lamb and Cobb said they have developed a new love of
running. Though neither was sure they'd try a half-marathon again,
they both said they will keep running for exercise and
pleasure.

The marathon and contest fit nicely with the medical center's
mission "to advance the health and wellness of those we serve,"
Luce said.

"By sponsoring a very large event, we're really reaching out to
our community members and saying, 'We're here to support you and to
support the programs that promote a healthy lifestyle,'" she
said.